


Breathless

by Lilith_In_The_Garden, orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: First Kiss, Humanstuck, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 20:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11193030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith_In_The_Garden/pseuds/Lilith_In_The_Garden, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You don't understand why Karkat's been acting so weird around you, but you're going to do something to put a stop to that. Or at least, you will once your sister stops meddling.





	Breathless

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Breathe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9375545) by [Lilith_In_The_Garden](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith_In_The_Garden/pseuds/Lilith_In_The_Garden). 



“I mean, honestly, we had garbage bags set up all over the place, would it really have killed them to just take two little steps towards them and dispose of their garbage properly? I swear, I can’t fucking stand my family sometimes, they’re so gross. Not Mayor though. He’s an exception, he’s perfect.”

 

Your name is Dave Strider, and you’re currently listening to Karkat whine while you help him clean up after yesterday’s Christmas dinner.

 

Not that you really mind. Everyone had been working in shifts, so it’s just you and him together now. You like hearing him talk, even if he’s just complaining. The sound of his voice is just really soothing to you.

 

“I’m with you on that, man. Mayor’s the most precious bean in probably the entire fucking universe. When we get married, we’re absolutely adopting him as our son.”

 

Karkat snorts, rolling his eyes. “No way, by the time we get married he’ll be an angsty teen. We’d miss all his developing years. Unless you want to just like, elope right now and go grab the adoption papers.”

 

“I’m on it,  _ my precious honey cluster.”  _ Karkat seems to find that one hilarious, doubling over and laughing. You have to admit, it’s a contagious sound. Soon enough, you’re laughing too, and then neither of you are cleaning, instead just standing around and cracking up.

 

You’ll admit it, but only in your head, that you’re awaiting whatever cringey petname Karkat can come up. He doesn’t give one though, instead just taking a series of deep breaths to calm down, then punching you in the shoulder.

 

“We should get back to work before one of those piles collapses,” he says, a bit breathlessly, and indeed, that one stack of plates _does_  look a bit precarious. Still, you’re not quite ready to stop joking around with him like this. You’ve never really had this kind of relationship with anyone, not even John; sure, you’d joke around, but you’d never felt comfortable enough to just let go like this.

 

“What’s going to collapse first, those plates, or you, swooning from my sicknasty endearments, my dearest, over-sweetened karkappucino?”

 

He snorts again, a smile still lingering from the earlier laughter, but he seems...different this time. Less enthusiastic. “Stop shitting around, Dave. Let’s just finish this up.”

 

Your own smile falls now. It hasn’t escaped your notice that Karkat’s been acting funny since yesterday, with that whole mistletoe thing. He’d gone from avoiding even looking at you to asking to cuddle. The morning was a mess of awkward conversation, and he didn’t get much one on one time with you at the party. And now he goes from laughing with you like you’re best friends to this uncomfortable half-indifference.

 

You’re not entirely sure what caused these mood swings to start, but you’re positive it’s at least partially your fault. And if you really  _ are  _ the source of this uncomfortable tension, you’re not actually sure how to resolve it without digging yourself into even deeper of a hole. 

 

Last night, you’d gotten awkwardly close to revealing your confusing tangle of emotions for him. At the time, you’d felt relieved knowing that you hadn’t just blurted it out, but it wasn’t getting any easier to keep the secret. When he gets all pouty and brooding like this, you just want to kiss his face again and again until he smiles.

 

“Uh, hello, earth to Stri-dick? You’re spacing out again, asshole.”

 

“Nah, dude. I’m just lost. Got a map? I just got lost in your eyes. Or maybe it was the hugeass swamp of dishes we gotta wade through.”

 

Karkat only seems to deflate further at that. He rolls his eyes, moving past you to the sink to get started on the dishes. “Come on. I don’t want to be here all day.” 

 

“Why not? We _do_  have all day; I’ve already started adapting to the kitchen, bro. The theory of evolution isn’t some bullshit you can just deny, generations of Strider brain cells have already started dying off and evolving, becoming more and more similar to porcelain. You heard it here first, folks. Dave Strider is not only as much of a pale fuck as porcelain, but literally the porcelain of your sink, and believe it, I will eat your dishes like fucking Cookie Monster or something.” You stop yourself before you can roll into another ramble. “But. Uh, dude. You’ve been a bit off? I’m not sure how to describe it, but are you okay?”

 

He grumbles something you can’t quite hear, then turns to glare at you. He doesn’t necessarily look  _ mad,  _ though - his cheeks are too pink for that, his body language too nervous. “...I kissed you yesterday. And you didn’t kiss back. I wanted to cuddle with you, and you shot that down. Then you kissed my head like I was some kid or something. And now you’re joking around with me like nothing ever happened. I want to know what the  _ fuck  _ is going on, Dave.”

 

You sincerely hope your shades are large enough to conceal the redness creeping into your cheeks, because really? You don’t know what the fuck is going on either, so, naturally, you deflect. “Shit, dude, are you accusing me of pedophilia or something? I mean, you’re basically the height of a kid, but man, that wasn’t my intention at all.”

 

Evidently, this isn’t what he wants you to say. He glowers up at you, hands curling into fists, and for a moment, you think he’s going to hit you. Then, all at once, he deflates, turning away from you. “...Should’ve expected that. You can go get started cleaning the living room or whatever, I’ve got things covered here.”

 

Well, now you just feel like shit. He looks so downtrodden that you reach out and grab his shoulder. The conversation has taken a turn for the serious that even you can’t derail, so you hop right aboard that train. “Look, dude. What do you want me to say? The mistletoe thing was Rose fucking with us, and like I said, I don’t want your dad to hate me considering I actually like hanging out with you. And, uh...” You trail off.

 

Karkat’s not looking any happier as you go on. In fact, he looks almost crushed, averting his eyes with a harsh exhale as you mention the mistletoe thing. You have no clue what the right thing to say is right now, and in fact, everything you’re saying is only seeming to make matters worse. 

 

Eh, might as well go for it. He’s already looking pissed enough and this is so awkward you crave death anyways. “...I kissed you because I like you…?” With that bomb dropped, you shrug, trying to look as nonchalant as possible even though you _know_  that your face must be hotter than the lava of Mount Doom by now. Incidentally, you're just as doomed.

 

Karkat stares at you for a moment. It always catches you off guard to see how clear his emotions are on his face. They flash through his eyes, one right after the other: shock, confusion, doubt, excitement, then finally, they settle on hope. “...You like me?”

 

The butterflies that had been fluttering around gently in your stomach get caught in a twister as you see the way he’s looking at you. So naturally, you being yourself, you open your mouth and unleash the flood. “Um. Yeah? How could I not, you’re fucking adorable. You’ve got all that fluffy hair and those big brown eyes that would make anime girls jealous, probably, that’s how fucking moe you are. And you act like you’re a big scary grizzly bear, and then you turn around and start going on about romcoms and Will Smith like a teenage girl. And no matter how much you shout  and complain, it’s really obvious how much you care about your friends and how much you want them to be happy, and it’s so sweet. And you have all these delicate little emotions and I just want to hold you and make sure you never have to deal with any of the bad ones ever again, y’know?”

 

You’re not watching his face anymore, instead just staring off to the side and practicing every technique you’d ever heard of for keeping calm while nervous. Except the one about imagining people in their underwear; not only was that one weird, but it led to thoughts you really didn’t need. As such, you don’t catch the way Karkat’s expression goes from ‘don’t you dare be fucking with me’ to confused to kind of hopeful.

 

However, you just so happen to be looking towards the kitchen’s entrance, and a flash of lavender catches your eye. Why did your sister have to be such a fucking meddler? You have to do something; if she catches you doing the whole mushy confession thing, she’ll never let you live it down. And so you laugh, hoping the sound isn’t as forced as you feel like it is. “But like, I mean, no homo or anything, bro.”

You’re watching Rose out of the corner of your eye, but you’ve refocused the majority of your attention on Karkat. This means you get to see the way his face falls at your words. He looks absolutely destroyed. “I...I don’t...what exactly are you saying here, Dave?”

 

“I! Um!!” You panic. Rose is still standing there, and you’re still flipping out, so you flail a hand madly in her direction, hoping like hell she gets the message and leaves. The message, unfortunately isn’t received by the person it had been intended for; someone else gets it by mistake.

 

Karkat glares at you, but there’s no mistaking the tears in his eyes. “Alright, fine! I guess I’ll just go then, since you want to get rid of me so badly! I can’t fucking believe you’re pulling this shit right now…what is this, fuck with Karkat day?! Yeah, sounds about right. For a holiday gift, Karkat Vantas gets soul-shattering disappointment!”

 

He looks like he’s about to just stomp out and avoid you again, so you give up. Screw Rose and her meddling, she’s already got enough material on you anyways. You grab Karkat, pull him toward you, and hug him almost desperately. “It’s just, no homo ‘cause you’re pan!” you burst out, probably a bit too loudly for the situation. It was just the first thing you could think of that might be able to save your sorry ass. “It’s a technicality. I really do like you, I swear. Wasn’t trying to get rid of you, it’s just that Rose was kinda standing there, and that’s just weird, because, um, it’s just supposed to be the two of us? Like in your romcoms?”

 

He wriggles in your grasp, separating himself from you just enough to look at the doorway. “Dave. There’s no one there, are you shitting me.” He still sounds kind of pissed, but at least he isn’t looking like he’s about to cry anymore, so that’s better. You peer at the doorway too, still not relinquishing your grip on Karkat because it’s actually really nice to just hold him like this; fuck, you’re so shades over heels for this kid it’s not even funny.

 

You catch no sight of Rose, though, she must have slipped away after witnessing your embarrassing display of emotion. “Well she _was_  there, who knows where she’s slipped off to now. Probably to go fuck with someone else’s life.”

 

Karkat still seems kind of doubtful, but he slumps against you with a sigh, letting his arms creep around you. “...I need you to be honest with me, Dave. No bullshit, no diversion, no distractions. Do you like me, or not?”

 

“Do _you_  like me? I kinda just got done vomiting up my heart at you, so…”

 

“I asked you first!”

 

“I asked you second!!”

 

Karkat goes silent for a bit, fingers curling and flattening against the back of your shirt. Finally, he sighs, pressing his face into your shoulder. “...Yeah. I like you.”

 

You definitely do not make a high pitched sound of surprise and sheer happiness. That was definitely not a thing that happened. You clear your throat and squeeze him a bit tighter. “Yeah, I like you too. As in I’d totally be into doing things like holding your hand or kissing your face or, I don’t know, giving you disgusting petnames?”

 

You don’t hear him, but you can feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he laughs. “You already do that last one. But yeah, I’d be down for that too, my tall glass of apple juice.”

 

“Are you implying that there’s a possibility that I’m really just a large glass of piss?”

 

“That is  _ exactly  _ what I’m implying.”

 

“Is that your weird and fucked up way of telling me your fetishes.”

 

“Oh my god, Dave, no, gross!” This time, you can hear him laugh, shaking his head as he does.

 

“Kidding, kidding”, you say, then just stop talking because your voice comes out uncomfortably dreamy. As in, Karkat’s being so damn cute he’s affecting your motor functions. Regardless, since last night, you’ve been wondering how Karkat reacted when you kissed him, so you do just that. You pull back, flash him a flustered grin, and peck him on the forehead. Again.

 

Karkat blinks, staring wide-eyed up at you as his cheeks go pink. He rolls his eyes, mumbling something about you being an idiot, then rises onto his toes, pressing his lips to yours.

This time, you kiss him back.

**Author's Note:**

> Screams, this is way more romantic than canon


End file.
